


You Can't Say That

by Spiria



Category: World Trigger
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-23 22:59:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7483290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiria/pseuds/Spiria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four times Inukai couldn't (or shouldn't) say, and the one time he could and didn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Can't Say That

When he’s seven years old, Inukai tells a girl what he thinks about the haircut she’d given her dolls. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, because she’d asked him, but she bursts into ugly tears at his answer, and the screeching bawl tears at his eardrums. Afterward, his sisters take him aside for a scolding.

“Sumiharu, if you keep saying things like that, you’ll hurt everyone’s feelings.”

“I was just being honest,” says Inukai, and every day after that is a test to see if he'll break another girl's heart.

The rules are simple enough: smile, and make sure it reaches the eyes; if it sounds negative, don’t say it; when someone gossips, don’t contribute; last but not least, be nice. In summation, Inukai learns that, in order to make friends and peace with the world, he should say nothing in so many words.

If he continues to talk badly in front of people, he’ll live a lonely life without anyone to love him back. That’s what his sisters tell him. On the same day, Inukai gives up on the prospect of dating, much less marriage, and concentrates on playing nice with everyone else.

 

Life goes on, and Inukai never makes another girl cry. But the vapid day-to-day interactions wear on him, and he joins Border for a different experience. Before long he finds himself in the company of Ninomiya - a delightfully blunt graduate student accompanied by his other handpicked children, who are so socially impaired that Inukai has to make an effort not to laugh when he meets them.

With a self-esteem comparable to a kicked dog, Hatohara is a chore to speak to, the arduous task of getting a straight word out of her the same as pulling teeth. Inukai had expected no less from a dowdy woman who hides her insecurities behind a smile so fake that he wants to laugh even more when he sees it. Others might find the facade coy, but he looks at it like something unpolished and unsightly.

When they lose their place in the expedition force, Hatohara is inconsolable. Inukai gives her a wry smile and says, “It’s all right. No one’s mad at you.”

He’d always known that her irrational incompetence would come back to bite them with a vengeance, so he hadn’t hoped. It’s a shame that he can’t say, “I told you so,” because his sisters would flay him for it.

 

Inukai takes Tsuji to the okonomiyaki restaurant Kageura’s family runs, pointedly ignoring the glare he receives from the proprietor’s son. It’s almost embarrassing, he tells Tsuji while they wait for their food, how lousy Kageura is at controlling himself. He mentions that even Kikuchihara has more tact.

"But what's really funny," says Inukai to Tsuji, "is how Kage gets whenever I look at him. The way he bares his teeth reminds me of a rabid dog. It must be hard to trust anyone when he can tell someone's being dishonest." He laughs. "I shouldn't have said that. My sisters are going to scold me."

"Does Kageura-senpai tell them?” asks Tsuji.

"No, he doesn’t go near them. You're not going to tell?" asks Inukai.

"Well . . . "

Tsuji can't talk to women, and so he’ll keep his silence. Grinning, Inukai says, "That's what I like about you, Tsuji-chan."

 

One year later, it's his anniversary as an agent and Inukai realizes that he has fallen. He hadn't thought about it much, but now that he does with his sisters springing the question, he begins to toy with the notion that he's found someone with whom he's willing to gamble his personality. One of his sisters asks when she can meet "the girl who shot Cupid's bullet" through his heart, and he chuckles.

"I can't tell you," he says, "yet. It wouldn't be fair to take them by surprise."

Approval from his sisters isn't the issue. Rather, if he so much as lets the first syllable of Tsuji's name slip, he's sure his sisters will devour Tsuji without the slightest hint of ill-intent. Tsuji is still too shy around women and would rather hide behind Inukai, after all.

 

One day, Inukai asks, "Are you ever going to talk to another girl besides Hyami, Tsuji-chan?" At the inquisitive glance he receives, he says, "You have to date sometime." If nothing else, it would be convenient for Tsuji to tolerate an unfamiliar woman's company so that he can meet Inukai's sisters. But Tsuji doesn’t say anything, instead lapsing into awkward silence as he tries not to fidget in his seat, and Inukai rephrases his question. "What kind of person do you like?"

"What do you mean, 'what kind'?" asks Tsuji, meeting Inukai's eyes.

"Exactly what it means. Whether it's a boy or a girl, who's the easiest to be around?"

Tsuji considers the question before he says, "I would prefer someone calm."

"Right, it's no good when the other party is always anxious." Inukai nods. "Anything else?"

"And . . . sincere."

"Huh?"

"A calm, sincere person is comfortable to be around," explains Tsuji.

Humming, Inukai slumps against his seat. "That's a tough one."

He determines that Tsuji wouldn't get up and walk away if he were to say something brutally honest now; then again, that's exactly what he'd thought as a seven-year-old before the girl had cried up a storm. This time, he reasons, he's dealing with a grown-up and not a snot-nosed crybaby. It wouldn't be the first time he's said something incorrigible in front of Tsuji, but he supposes that growing up with concerned sisters has had a lasting effect.

"Inukai-senpai, the reason for these questions . . . "

"Ah, it's nothing." Inukai waves. "Don't worry about it. I was just wondering."

The rest of the time they're together, Tsuji looks at Inukai, as though he expects an elaboration. Inukai doesn't give Tsuji the satisfaction of that answer, having decided that, if he can't even work up the nerves to confess and maintain his full honesty, he's not nearly sincere enough to pursue the source of his infatuation. Dimly, he realizes that his sisters had been halfway correct when they'd predicted that he would end up alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Why does Kageura despise Inukai? He doesn't mind the company of other energetic characters, but he can't stand Inukai. As someone who values sincerity like Kuga due to his Side Effect, maybe he feels things from the guy to which others aren't privy.
> 
> On his end, Inukai has some lines in canon that toe the boundary between friendliness and condescension. He's nice, but that doesn't mean he's above judging others. Inukai's profile states that he'd been taught how to talk to people by his sisters. He's very friendly as a result, but what if he'd been a problematic child beforehand?
> 
> Between themselves, Inukai and Tsuji are polarizing characters. Their methods of communication are the opposite; Inukai beats around the bush, while Tsuji is to the point. In the context of this fic, Inukai, having been raised under strict surveillance on how to present himself, finds Tsuji's directness both refreshing and attractive. It's not a very healthy infatuation.
> 
> Honestly, I have no excuse. I wanted to write something self-indulgent. I'm also running out of ideas, so feel free to leave me requests and the like in the comments or at my tumblr (feriyen). Ciao!


End file.
